The Variation of Destiny S1 Special: The Bridge to Variation
by HappytheExceed
Summary: AU: Set between the one year timeskip in the last chapter of S1. Natsu lost his life from the last mission with Kingdom Empire resulting in his twin, Tsuna's growing hatred towards the dark guilds, Gray's thoughts towards the almighty Jellal who failed to save him, & Lucy's mission which grant her a reward she never expect.
1. Chapter 1: Tsuna's loneliness

**This is originally a story retold with the available scenes from the anime. Hence readers will find a lot of similarities on this fic and the scenes from the original anime series. See my profile for the summary for the future chapters :).**

**For those who had been reading my fic all these while, thank you. It's advisable for you to read the main chapters of "The Variation of Destiny S1: The Beginning" before you read these special chapters. These special chapters will act as the bridge to the plot of season 2. There are a total of ten chapters split into three parts about Tsuna, Gray and Lucy respectively.**

**Once again, Tsuna is based on Edo-Natsu. In this fic, he is the twin brother of Natsu. **

**As I was writing this chapter, I truly find it hard to write on the feeling of the character. This seemed to be the best I can go. Reviews are appreciated.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Tsuna's loneliness**

He did not know. He did not know since when he had changed. He did not know since when he no longer trust anybody. He did not know since when he had lost his alternate personality disorder.

He did not know how he went through that fateful day. All he heard was they have accomplished their mission successfully so he rushed to meet Ciel at the meeting point and to thank the Lucy and the group who had taken down the Kingdom Empire. But when he reached he did not see them celebrating their victory. They were all quiet. He saw Lucy in tears of despair. Happy was dejected. And there was this guy who he thought was familiar and he was topless, he knew he saw him coming but he was not sure if it was his imagination. He was avoiding eyes contact with him. Everyone was ignoring him.

_"What had happened?"_ He thought. The atmosphere felt very stiff. He found very hard to breathe there. Who can answer his query? Tsuna looked around and he saw a man with blue hair with a very weird tattoo on his right eye approaching him. At the moment, he felt very uneasy. He got a very bad feeling when he asked for his identity and had something to tell him.

The man introduced himself as Jellal Fernandes, one of the famous Wizard Saints from the Magic Council. He led him to a dark room where he saw someone lying on the bed right in the middle of the room. As the room was dark; he could not make out who the person was. His instinct told him to get out of the room. As he turned to his back, Jellal placed his hand on his shoulder. He wanted to run away from him. He did not want to hear what he had to say. His mind told him that if he did not get out of the room now, he was going to regret. Tsuna was full of fear.

"I'm sorry." Was what he said to him.

"_Why was he saying sorry to me?_ _He did not do anything wrong. In fact they succeeded in their mission." _

His eyes widened by the time Jellal had finished his words and he left him alone in the room. He told him someone had lost his life during the mission. By right, he was not supposed to be involved. Who was _that _someone? Ahh, he avoided hearing his name. Was he even listening to what Jellal had to say? He never bothered to listen when others were talking most of the time, isn't it?

He stared at the lifeless form. Why was he so familiar to him? Tears welled up his eyes before he even noticed. He reached for his bruised face. He was all beat-up. Why? He wasn't supposed to be here? He was supposed to be wandering around having fun enjoying his break from mission. Why was he lying out here in the cold? Tsuna touched his face and kneeled on the ground as he let out an agonising cry.

"Brother!"

Tsuna could not help it. He did what he could, trying to wake his brother up. He must be sleeping right? His brother did not even flinch when he tried to wake him up.

_"Who did this to him? Kingdom Empire? It must be! "_

_"He died from the shock of the damages from the Organic Link Magic when my teammate destroyed the lacrimas linked to him after being drained of magic power in a short period of time."_ Tsuna recalled that Jellal had already told him the details which he was not even listening. Tsuna cried over his twin's lifeless body in despair.

So this was the reason why he was feeling so frustrated. His twin brother. Natsu was suffering from the torture Kingdom Empire had inflicted on him all these while. He must be in a lot of pain before he died. This was the link between the twins. He could feel it when his twin was suffering and he felt very lonely all the sudden. That must be the moment when Natsu breathed his last.

He could not accept it. Hence, he went on a rampage on his funeral. He just could not accept that his brother had left him all alone in this world.

For the past year Tsuna could not face the reality. It took him a long time before he came to his grave. That time, he had just graduated and he had broken up with Ciel. He was in despair and he could not trust anybody enough to share his feeling with.

Jellal had taken him in as his disciple as he could see that he had potential and talent in magic. Tsuna just wanted to master magic so that he could be a mage like his twin brother was when he was alive. He was determined to wipe out all the dark guild in the world so that no one else would suffer like he did.

Tsuna realized that he had been too dependant on his brother who had been watching over him, working hard to support him in his studies when he was alive.

_"Now he really left me in the lurch. He is selfish after all. No, I was the one who is selfish. I was the one who left him alone in Fairy Tail since Dad and Mum died just because I don't wish to be compared to him. " _Tsuna finally understood his brother's feeling of loneliness.

He went on a mission one day with Erza and Gray. They were fighting members of a dark guild when he heard something very wrong. Apparently, the Mastermind who was behind the Kingdom Empire incident and who was responsible for his brother's death had escaped from the prison.


	2. Chapter 2: Tsuna's fury

**The first half was something never released originally as I'm not finished with the planning of the plot when I was writing this. Since the series had been completed, and with fanfic, I'm not limited to the scenes of the anime, I'm free to write. It is even harder to write battle scenes. Hope it work out well.**

**You may like to take note of a characteristic of magic mentioned in the first half of this chapter on Jellal which will be linked to Special Chapter 4. The details with regards to Jellal resulted from this particular feature will be explained in season 4. I hope I'm good enough to initiate thoughts for my fic.**

**Reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Tsuna's fury**

_He saw a man in blue hair which was reaching the length of the shoulder in white talking to somebody in the dark._

_"You mean my son, he is in danger?" The man asked anxiously. He was talking to a child who was sleeping in a glass chamber filled with liquid. He tried to have a better look by approaching the man, the man turned to his back to face him. To his horror, they had the same feature and he woke up._

* * *

Jellal Fernandes was seen sweating waking up from his sleep. It was the same dream again. The dream had been haunting him for the past year. He wondered why. This was the answer he could never reach despite him being a genius even after years to come.

He dressed up and reported to work, he was informed by one of the guards about the news: The Master of the Kingdom Empire who was awaiting for trial had escaped. Apparently he took the mobile fortress, which was sealed in the Magic Council with him.

Although his expression did not show when he saw the remains of his cell, Jellal was really pissed off. He was pissed because he never trusted his words thinking that he could outsmart him. The man had given him his words that he would escape on this very day. Jellal shrugged off the idea as he believed in the security of the Magic Council. The prisoner had not done anything funny after he was held captive for the past year either. Why now?

Jellal sent his guards off to leave him alone for a while. He punched the wall in frustration. He made a huge mistake. He should have believed his words. Twice, he failed to believe because he thought he was being desperate after being cornered by him; twice he was made to suffer the consequences. He was reminded of the incident on the Kingdom Empire mission, because of his arrogance, an innocent life was lost. He had never been able to forgive himself since then. His thought was interrupted when a guard approached him to inform him about something.

"Lady Erza is on the line. She wishes to speak to you." Jellal nodded to his guard and returned to his office to answer her line via the communication lacrima. She wanted the direction where the Master of Kingdom Empire had escape to, to his surprise. The news sure spread fast. His expression hardened after hanging up. He realized something.

_"If she heard the news, so will he. Does that mean… Damn it!" _In a hurry, he ran to the magic chamber which stored magic remnant of magic which he collected over his missions. He reached for a burning flame which was sealed in a corner. The fire was burning with life. Jellal was filled with regret whenever he saw it.

"I guess it's time now. " Jellal told himself as he took the flame with him. He needed to go after his foolish disciple, Tsuna. He would not let any harm come to him like he did to his twin brother.

* * *

Tsuna was fighting members of a dark guild when he heard something very wrong. Apparently, the Mastermind who was behind the Kingdom Empire incident had escaped from the prison. He just could not control his anger. Threatening one of the fallen members of the dark guild, he demanded for the location of the mobile fortress, Nirvana. He decided to challenge the so-called General on his own for he was the one who was responsible for the death of his only brother. He could not let him go unpunished for his deed. Also because of his twin brother, he could not forgive Ciel who kept the news of his captivity from him. Erza and Gray were too busy with their battles to notice that he had set off alone after obtaining the location.

Tsuna was panting. He was tired after fighting through the grunts to reach the centre of the mobile fortress, Nirvana. Yes, he was new as a mage for he learnt magic skill for less than a year. Tsuna had joined Fairy Tail after he graduated and he was taken in by one of the Ten Wizard Saints, Jellal as disciple because he was told that he had the talent. It was said that his potential even surpassed his dead twin. Even so, he was still inexperienced as a fighter. His eyes widened when he realized someone was watching him when he was trying to catch his breath. The man smiled evilly.

"Wow! What do I have here? The tool I used to make a fool of the light guilds with. What was the name of the guild again, Furry Tail? It seems that you are recovering well from the damages received from the draining of magic power and organic link. I'm honestly surprised to see you well and alive here. Did you come here now to die? Tools are to be discarded when they are no longer useful. Do not expect that I'm still the same as before, my other personality had recovered and I'm much more powerful than I was last year. " He opened his red eyes to look at Tsuna.

Tsuna could no longer keep his cool. This man had been throwing insults at his dead brother. So Natsu who was supposed to be a life had been a tool to him.

"It seems that somebody is just like me, both of us are suffering from alternate personality disorder." Tsuna commented, "Damn you! You caused me to lose everything, yet you are not being punished. Unforgivable! Let's settle this today!" Tsuna began his attack after finishing his sentence. He moved fast lunging at the man in green.

The Master of Kingdom Empire, the General, Zero was impressed as he commented while dodging his incoming punches and kicks, "Well well, it seemed that you had improved over the past few months, you moved much better now. That time you were a lot more vulnerable. Come! Let me hear your scream from that time!" He fired his Dark Capriccio from his hand attacking Tsuna who was caught up in surprise. He was quickly overwhelmed by the speed of his attacks.

It had not been easy for Tsuna who finally managed to stop his attack head-on after enduring a series of hit on his body. "Looks like I'm not good enough." Tsuna thought to himself. His thought was cut off when he was hit by a blast. He looked at his attacker in shock.

It was his teacher, Jellal who had arrived to stop him. "Damn you!" Tsuna yelled at him in fury as he looked up to him. Even though Jellal had taken him in as his disciple allowing him to do what he wanted but he had gone past his limit.

Jellal faced Zero with a stern look as he spoke, "Sorry for interrupting your fight with my ill-disciplined disciple. It is my bad to have you to discipline my disciple on my behalf. " He turned to face Tsuna who was glaring at him in fury as he continued, "Looks like I need to wake you up."


	3. Chapter 3: Tsuna's awakening

**I threw in extra scenes for this chapter which is related to if anybody remembers chapter 8 in the main chapters of S1. All are hints to the subsequent seasons. Inspiration was overflowing. Perhaps, I should revise the original version. Guess not, I will leave it as that. **

**Reviews are always appreciated.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Tsuna's awakening**

"Sorry for interrupting your battle with my ill-disciplined disciple." Jellal declared giving Master Zero a stern glare.

"It has been a while since we face off like this, Mr Jellal, Wizard Saint." Zero replied, turning his head to his direction. "I didn't expect this tool is your disciple. No wonder he is so much different from before. I find it funny when he tried countless times to escape from my clutches that time. He is such an eyesore to me. You should have taught him how to use his magic long ago."

"I'm sorry for borrowing the tool for my own use. Mr Wizard Saint has great foresight. The magic power of this tool is just too incredible. Unfortunately, he was unable to use it for himself so I took it for my own use instead. There are a number of uses to it. Organic Link Magic is just one of them. It's even good enough to charge my Dragon Chain Cannon." Zero commented sarcastically.

The two men eyed one another. They had old scores to settle. Jellal is one of the Wizard Saints who stood on the side of justice, implacably opposed to the villain like Master Zero. Jellal managed to thwart his plan all the time but Zero always managed to get away. He was able to capture him last year because he chose to be caught by him. That was why he was easily defeated by Jellal. He had always wanted to see his reaction when he found out about the _tool_: His resentment as Jellal had always been too proud and arrogant.

Kingdom Empire was just a puppet guild to reveal the ugly side of the human. Zero found it very interesting as selfish human would always do nasty things to one another to achieve their aims. He was just a puppet master. By turning normal human into lacrima and giving normal human the ability to use magic, he would let them use one another. Natsu was just unlucky. He was a tool for Fairy Tail to kill their own. Even comrades could not be trusted since you never know when they will betray you. You would not even know why you died. Zero was just making use of human's mind. Because of that, Jellal tasted failure from causing the loss of life of the innocent for the very first time.

"Are you done with your speech? Thank you for your compliment. I feel rather disgusted on the way you played with human mind. You can't even spare people who cannot fight back. I will discipline my own disciple. As for you, it would be nice if you would surrender yourself. " Jellal was infuriated. He could not afford to make the same mistake again, he would bring Tsuna back.

Tsuna could no longer contain his anger. He ran over to Jellal and punched him right on his face. He was fuming in anger; he did not expect his teacher to attack him. "Damn you! This guy, he turned the innocent into lacrima for their own use and even killed my dear brother. You should know that my poor brother died tragically. He was in a lot of pain before he died. Because of that, I can't let him off! At most I will perish with him." He yelled in frustration.

"Please take this outside if both of you want to turn against each other. " Zero interrupted them as he fired his Dark Capriccio at Tsuna. Jellal moved quickly in front of Tsuna and took the attack instead. He grimaced in pain and kneeled on the ground when the attack hit him shocking Tsuna.

"Why did you save me?" Tsuna demanded. He should be the one hurt instead.

"I guess it is time now." Jellal informed Tsuna as he sat down weakly due to the damage he received earlier. "Are you awake now?" A ball of golden flame lit up his hand. "You are still inexperience as a mage, to ask to take Zero on now would be asking too much. Take this "Flame of Rebuke" with you. This is the remnant of Natsu's magic power. It will boost your magic power." Jellal offered Tsuna the flame.

Tsuna recognized the flame.

***Flashback***

_Tsuna recalled something he had wanted to forget. That was seven years ago. He was talking to the Master of Fairy Tail, __Makarov_ at Porlyusica's place, after they were found and taken in by Makarov after a catastrophic event which changed their lives.

_"Are you sure you want to do this?" Makarov asked him. "You understand that you will no longer be able to achieve top form if you do this even if you are talented." A pink haired elderly lady, Porlyusica frowned as she continued to work on her medicines._

_"I will do anything as long as my brother can live and be happy." Young Tsuna replied decisively raising his voice while looking at the sleeping form of his twin brother with his neck bandaged up. Spots of blood could still be seen on the bandage. "I never wanted to become a mage anyway. After this, I will leave here and the truth will never be discovered as long as he never regains his memory! " Tsuna brushed locks of hair from young Natsu's frail looking face._

***End Flashback***

"This is my brother's Flame?" Tsuna gasped as he stared at the flame. He had lost himself since his twin's death. He dressed up like his brother by wearing his clothes and dragged out his scarf given by his mother. He could not allow himself to forget his brother's existence. Tsuna would even give up his life if it meant he could avenge his death. He regretted his action. It was a mistake. Natsu would not want that if he was still alive. He recalled the time he was with Natsu and Natsu's warm loving smile.

Tsuna accepted the flame.

Jellal smiled as he watched his disciple glowing in fire. He was partly responsible for Natsu's death. If only he had gone to Lucy's side on time, he might be able to save Natsu with the Flame which was drained from him he found. Unfortunately, he was too late by the time he reached them. After the incident, he took Tsuna in as his disciple and taught him magic. Hopefully, he would be able to return the Flame to Tsuna one day. Jellal did not seem to care but he was full of remorse. Natsu was an outstanding mage, it was a pity to lose him. Although it was still too early for Tsuna he would return the Flame to him. Jellal believed that Natsu would have wanted that. If it was Tsuna, he would be able to put his magic power to use.

"Thank you for the meal. Let me have the honour to arrest you to answer for your deed." Tsuna declared as he wiped the side of his face. Zero smirked at his declaration. With Natsu's magic power blending with his, Tsuna had his magic power returned to full. He was not alone; his brother would always be by his side.

He would defeat Zero with Natsu.


	4. Chapter 4: Tsuna's response

**I'm trying to work things out as the new semester is starting soon and I most probably would not be able to update that frequently. **

**I will finish up Tsuna's arc in one to two days. I have one more chapter to go for his part. This is originally a story retold with the available scenes from the anime. Hence readers will find a lot of similarities on this fic and the original anime series.**

**Reviews are always appreciated although I don't seem to get them here :P. ****I managed to get one of the most reviews from this chapter after the final chapter from S1 when it was originally posted in the forum. Perhaps, my writing is not fantastic but please guide me along. **

******Thank you for your support. **

* * *

**Chapter 4: Tsuna's response**

_"Tsuna, did you see that? The sky is blue and wide. We are still under the same sky no matter where you are. I wonder if you can hear me from Edolas. Comrades are an important existence. Because of them we are able live and stay strong. No matter where you are, you are never alone with them around. No matter how hopeless the situation is, there are ought to be comrades who love and watch over you under the same blue sky." - Natsu_

* * *

Tsuna had accepted Natsu's "Flame of Rebuke". There was nothing to be afraid of with his brother with him. He would fight and defeat Zero together with Natsu.

Zero was a bit impressed as he could sense Tsuna's full power. "Good! Show me your true power!" Tsuna's body was all fire up as he lunged at Zero.

Tsuna saw the memories locked in the Flame when he accepted it. Natsu's final memories before his magic power was drained from him flowed into his mind.

***Flashback***

_Natsu had tried countless times to escape from the place he was imprisoned in and he was always caught by either Hughes or Brain. He was an eyesore to them._

_On that fateful day, Natsu heard from Hughes that his comrades from Fairy Tail were coming to take them down._

_"My friends from Fairy Tail are coming? " Natsu thought in desperation. "Damn it! If I'm able use my magic now, I would have burnt you guys into crisp."_

_"What should I do? This just can't go on, my brother and Ciel, my friends from Fairy Tail, they are all in danger. If only I'm able to get out of here. I do not want to be a burden to my friends…" Comrades were very important existence to him. They ease his pain of loneliness and gave him support whenever he needed it. He would not want to be a burden to them. He needed to leave this place. _

_With quick thinking Natsu tricked the guard who was drunk and knocked him out. He grabbed the keys to the lock of his cell and escaped. He was able to get a grasp of the direction to the exit which is nearest to the city in Edolas despite failing to escape before. He would be able to leave this place once he was able to reach the city._

_Natsu was filled with hope as he was reaching the source of light. That was where the exit was. Usually he would be caught before that. This had been never been as easy as before. Disappointment swept over Natsu when he reached the exit to find someone waiting for him._

_It was the Puppet Master of Kingdom Empire, Brain._

_"Where is the tool from Fairy Tail going?" He smirked as he greeted Natsu who gritted his teeth in resistance. He was thinking of ways and means on how to outwit this man. He was unable to use his magic and he would be at a disadvantage to fight him head-on. _

_"One should act like a character he is casted as and as for you: a tool. Meanwhile, we still have use for you. I will be troubled if I lose you at this juncture." Brain mocked at Natsu. Natsu retorted hesitantly, "You won't be able to manipulate them even if you decided to use me to force them to surrender, because they no longer need me around. This was the reason why I left my guild. There is no benefit for you to keep me in captivity. " Natsu's heart sank when said that. He hated to admit. Comrades were important to him but he was beginning to lose his confidence in them. Lucy was getting married to Leo and she could not be bothered with him. Firstly, he did not even have the courage to confess to her. Tsuna was grown up and he had Ciel, why would he need a useless brother like him. _

_"This is an interesting statement. Human really uses one another to achieve their aims. They would get rid of one another once they have no use to them. Poor thing. Let me test if this statement of yours is true. The General would be happy to hear that. " With that he raised his staff and used fire a beam directly at Natsu who was caught in surprise knocking him down. Natsu watched as Brain transformed to his other personality, known as Zero. He approached Natsu with a smirk. _

_"I heard a lot about you from Brain. There are rarely people who are able to meet me in person. You should be honoured. I'm really interested to know if you are an unneeded existence. I decided to experiment on it. With that I will need your help." _

_Natsu was feeling hopeless. How can he escape for his current predicament? He really did not want to be manipulated by him for his ambition and in turn becoming a burden to his comrades. He felt really guilty for his inability and he had let his comrades down. _

_Even so, he did not want to give up. Natsu glared at Zero in defiance as he struggled to stand up enduring the pain from the injuries he received from Brain's attack. Zero was really impressed by his determination. _

_"To think you are still able to move after enduring that kind of attack. You really intrigue me. I really wanted to know what kind of impact you will have on the Light Guilds as a tool of manipulation." Zero commented. He raised his hand and started to drain magic power from Natsu. _

_"Stop it! AHHHHHHH!" Natsu screamed in pain. Magic power was part of the body; hence the pain from the draining of his magic power was so excruciating that he lost his consciousness very quickly. Zero was practically enjoying himself to hear Natsu screaming in pain until he became quiet._

_"Looks like it is really painful to lose one's magic power. " Zero commented sarcastically when he looked down on Natsu's unconscious form. "Your magic power is incredible. I simply can't believe that you said you are unneeded by the Light Guilds. I will still require your assistance to give me an interesting performance. "_

_Jellal was infuriated when he first seen the memories when he found the remnant of his magic power. He did not expect such negative thoughts coming from Natsu which resulted in the loss of his ability to utilize his magic. This was a secret between him, Blue Pegasus, Hibiki and Lucy's twin sister, Ciel. Now even Tsuna would have known about it through his memories. However, Natsu's feeling of wanting to save his comrades could still be felt. _

***End Flashback***

Tsuna continued his attacks on Zero. His attacks were becoming more powerful with his magic power boosted. Zero could sense that his power in battle was really different from Natsu he met last year.

Jellal watched Tsuna on his battle. This was contradicting. He was supposed to protect him from harm and take him back with him but to think he had tolerated his recklessness by allowing him to battle Zero despite all odds were against him as a new mage. Perhaps, this would grant Tsuna his wish to become stronger, and to be able to protect his loved ones. Natsu would not have to worry about him anymore. Jellal believed that Natsu would do the same if he was able to utilise his magic: to fight Zero head-on. Natsu's magic power contained his wish to protect his comrades, and Tsuna would be able to put it to use.

Zero could sense that he would lose the battle if this continued. Why not he played on his mind instead? "I should have commented earlier. You are not the same person as the tool before. That tool is a lot weaker as compared to you in terms of combat power and mental stability. "

Tsuna really snapped. He had hit his sore spot. How dare he insult his brother? "I will not allow you to badmouth my brother, you murderer! I had seen my memories and understood his feelings. I will use his magic to defeat you!"

Zero smirked. His plan to use members of Fairy Tail against one another had succeeded. He was right to use Natsu as a tool to ignite negative emotions from others.

"Try if you can! I will give you permission to reunite with your brother!" Zero charged darkness energy on his fingers and summons thousands of black phantoms fired at Tsuna. Tsuna was engulfed by them with his existence seemingly erased to the world of void.

"Human will do anything including using one another to achieve their aims. I'm just lending them my hand. Don't blame me; I'm also helping you to meet your brother as a gift for his assistance. Next, I shall have fun with your teacher, Jellal. He was such a hindrance to my plan."

In the world of void, Tsuna was on the verge of giving up. "I had lost. As expected, I'm still not good enough, I'm sorry, Brother."

Suddenly, he remembered something which boosted his confidence. He remembered Ciel and their last meeting before he left for Magnolia when Tsuna decided that it was over for them. _"How could I do this to you, Ciel?"_

Previously he was the one inconfident of himself. He always thought that Ciel would look down on him and how he was not worthy for her_. "Brother encouraged me to confess to her, and I succeeded." _

He could not afford to lose. He needed to apologise to Ciel.

_"Believe me, you can do it." Natsu flashed him his biggest smile. _

Tsuna forced through the world of void and out of it taking Zero by surprise, "That is… the magic of Double Dragon?" Tsuna roared as the incarnation of a Fire Dragon appeared before him.

"Even though human used all kinds of methods, using one another to achieve their aims, so what? Human as an individual is weak. Being weak is not a sin. Human will feel uneasy being alone, that is why guild existed. People will be able to stay strong. Human are not perfect, there are always tasks one alone can't complete, that is why we need help and support from comrades. Human depend on one another, is that equivalent to using one another for each other gains and benefits? There is love between humans, because of that I'm who I'm today. I will live on for the sake of the people whom I love and who loves me. Let me show you our strength!" Tsuna finished Zero by charging his head against Zero sending him flying against a pillar. He defeated Zero with his full strength.

Jellal who witnessed the whole of the battle was really proud of him. He was outstanding indeed. Tsuna would continue to grow and one day he would overtake him and Natsu would be proud of his Brother of Miracle.

_"So my brother was living in place filled with love and warmth which made him who he was."_ Tsuna concluded to himself as he wiped off his sweat off his face.

_"Brother, I have defeated this bastard on your behalf to answer your desire of wanting to protect us. You can finally rest in peace. "_ Tsuna grinned to himself, as the memory of his brother's smile of gratitude flashed through his memory.


	5. Chapter 5: Tsuna's gratitude

**I'm finally coming to the end of Tsuna's part. I was having some problem in making the jokes right thanks to the difference in languages. I ended up with no joke when comes to playing with the character names. Some jokes work in Chinese, others cannot. That applies to Japanese - English as well. Same goes to Tsuna character name. I don't really like the name Tsuna. Unfortunately it is not wise for me to name him as "Natsu" which I can in Chinese.**

**Again, Ciel in this fic is based on Edo-Lucy.**

**The next part will be on Gray's. I have updated my profile on summary of his part as well as Lucy's. If anybody is interested, S2 summary is updated. Guess if you can see where did the original scenes came from :P. **

* * *

**Chapter 5: Tsuna's gratitude**

It had been three months since Zero was defeated and arrested by Tsuna. Dressing up in his usual red shirt and goggle on top of his head, Tsuna was currently on the way back to Edolas.

He was looking around the scenery as he was reminiscing the time he had with Natsu when he was driving around with him last year. He left his scarf on the back of his car in memory of Natsu. Instead of talking to him about his experience in driving race, he spoke about his battle against the dark guilds.

It was as if the incident of teasing his brother about his motion sickness happened yesterday. Natsu could not even retaliate when he was on his four-wheeler and he could not do anything to his brother when he was outside his vehicle. The difference was: Tsuna was no longer the crybaby he used to be _acting_ as (He was not sure if he was even acting). He no longer sees the need to do that (perhaps maybe when he was with Ciel).

Tsuna had grown up. He had become more independent than before or was it earlier. He no longer need to know. He recalled what happened for the past year and was describing on how he defeated Zero. Come to think of it, the last and the _only_ time he confided with his brother was the last time he saw him well and alive. Tsuna was feeling depressed about it. Almost a year had passed since Natsu had left them.

Speaking of Zero's defeat, "I think you won't get the meaning of "adultery pair", brother, you are just too dense to know. I'm talking about the pair who would not stop following him around during their mission. One of them I think his name was Gray, the other was the Titania, Erza, my teacher's wife. I wondered why they even care whereever I go. Most likely it was the order by the old man (Makarov) in the guild." Tsuna was certainly daring in the way of his speech when he was on his vehicle like before.

"I suspect Gray was the one who caused the rift between Erza and my teacher, Jellal. Do you know that that ice cube had tried to court my teacher's wife during their schooldays?" Tsuna did not like Gray. He was always stalking him around and he was pretty annoyed. However, he was who he was now thanks to them. If it was not for them, the brothers would have been reunited in heaven considering how reckless Tsuna was on his mission. This must be what Natsu considered as comrades.

That day, Gray and Erza got very anxious when they realized that they had been separated from him. By hook or by crooks, they had to find him. They would be letting Natsu down if they lost him. Why are the salmon-haired brothers always giving them problems?

***Flashback***

_"Gray, have you found him?" Erza caught up with Gray. They had heard the explosion near where Nirvana was currently located according to the information Erza received from Jellal. They were very surprised to hear another voice replying on Gray's behalf._

_"We are here!" Tsuna pouted. Both he and Jellal were safe and sound._

_They were really surprised to hear how Tsuna had defeated Zero. How was that even possible considering that he was only mastering magic for less than a year? But they are glad that he was fine._

_The group waited for the troop from the Magic Council to arrive to escort the prisoner back to where he was supposed to be. Tsuna was lying on the ground taking his well needed rest. He never tried using so much magic power in such a short amount of time. He was too dead tired to move. Opening one of his eyes, he saw Erza heading to Jellal's direction. He could not be bothered to listen to their conversation. He heard about the gist of the conversation later. _

_Erza had made her decision and she planned to inform Jellal about it._

_"I didn't think you will be just as reckless as Tsuna. You are one of the Wizard Saints; I thought you will know better than taking risk of this level." Erza could not help but nagged about it. Jellal was her husband anyway. She knew him better hence she was surprised as his action deviated from his usual habit._

_Deep down, Jellal was feeling really guilty about not being able to save Natsu. This was an insult to him as the Wizard Saint. It was not easy for him to break the news on the tragedy to Tsuna. He could not forget his reaction when he saw Natsu's cold and lifeless body. Tsuna had lost his only family._

_There were still things that even Wizard Saint could not accomplish. They also have things they were unable to protect. He used to be too arrogant and insensitive towards Erza. Natsu's death had changed his perspective._

_"Natsu's death was an accident. Who would have expected that Zero was so cunning to have planned this ahead? I believe Natsu would not want you to reproach yourself over his death. On top of that you are taking responsibility to guide Tsuna along. With a strict teacher like you around, Natsu would be at ease to know that his younger brother is well taken care of."_

_As for us, I had been thinking hard and through, being a lady does not suit me at all. I'm not worthy of you causing you much embarrassment. Perhaps, we are still not mature enough. I feel that it was better for both of us to get a divorce to solve our problems. If fate permits, we can still get together. For now, we will just be friends if it is ok with you?" Erza had spoken her mind._

_Poor Jellal who had wanted to make up with her had his intention shattered and was forced to get a divorce. His expression was unreadable as he tried to cover his shock. _

***End Flashback***

Tsuna had something important to do in Edolas, he did not want to end up like his teacher.

Returning to the University of Edolas, Tsuna knew where to find her. As usual, someone was at her mercy. She was always the one bullying others and nobody could deal with her. She was still the same. He was the one who had changed.

Tsuna hesitated a while before calling out to her, "Ciel!"

Ciel's eyes widened when she heard a familiar voice calling for her name. Tears welled up her eyes. Her wait had finally paid off. He had finally returned to her side. All this while, Ciel had never given up waiting for Tsuna ever since they had broken up. She believed that he would come back to look for her one day.

Ciel felt really bad for causing Natsu's death indirectly as she did not inform them about her witnessing Natsu's capture by Kingdom Empire. They had broken up when Tsuna graduated and left for Magnolia. Since then, Ciel had never dared to look for him. She did not know how she can face him. She was feeling guiltier when Lucy expressed that she did not blame her for what had happened. It was just an accident. She heard that Tsuna had joined Fairy Tail and he had taken out quite a number of dark guilds in his mission. He was an impressive mage.

Ciel ran to Tsuna and hugged him. She could not believe it. The boy she had been missing was right in front of her.

"You are finally back! I'm really worried about you, Tsuna. I'm sorry for what happened to Brother Natsu. Forgive me for keeping it from you." Ciel finally let out what she had bottled up for the longest time.

Both Ciel and Tsuna looked at each other. They had read each other mind. They had forgiven one another. However…

"Damn you! See if I don't punish you for causing me so much misery worrying about you!" Ciel started using her famous torture techniques on Tsuna once more.

"Help me!" Tsuna cried out in pain.

* * *

_"No matter how hopeless the situation is, there are always comrades who love me, who watch over me under the same blue sky. I think I can continue in walking down this path in life together with Ciel and my friends. I do not feel lonely because I'm not alone."_

"And you will be watching over us in heaven right?" Tsuna stood in front of Natsu's grave as he popped this question. He thought he saw Natsu smiling at him in agreement as the wind blew past him.


	6. Chapter 6: The Ice Prince & The Wizard

**I set up my own system of the S Class Promotion exam. More details will be elaborated in Season 2. Once again, thank you for reading.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: The Ice Prince and The Wizard Saint**

This was a story about Gray, Erza and Jellal back from their schooldays three years before the main story of S1.

Gray and Erza were nominated to enroll into Fiore School of Magic. This was the top school of magic where one could master magic of higher level and became a S Class mage once they passed the national examination held every year. However, the mages studying there needed to earn their keeps and pay their school fees.

Erza was selected directly while Gray had to fight through the mages of his level in Fairy Tail to achieve the one and only seat available to represent Fairy Tail to enroll to the school. He got a feeling that he won the seat as his final opponent, Natsu, did not give his all as he was mumbling about needing his earnings from mission (not like he was earning a lot as he was paying for the damages he caused during his mission) to pay for his younger brother's school fees. He had forgotten about it as he was too excited. This was one of the easier ways to become an S Class mage. He did not recall Natsu mentioning about his brother (He did not even know of this brother of his) after this until he met Tsuna.

Gray and Erza grown up together in the guild. Gray as the Ice Prince at that point of time was thought to be too cold and unfeeling to be in love with any girl. Who would have guessed that till now Erza was the only girl he was in love with?

Apparently, Gajeel, Juvia and even Lucy's best friend, Leo came from the same school before they joined Fairy Tail. Gajeel and Juvia's class was always at loggerheads with their class. They would even fight after class to see who was better.

If one thought that Lucy's sister, Ciel was scary, think again? Erza was another level of her own. She was able to take a class of people on at once. Once Gajeel had stepped on her tail by badmouthing one of her classmates in the class, he was taught a lesson not to mess with Erza. Whenever she was engaged in her battle, Gray would come and assist her although she never needed his help. Gray admired her for her loyalty towards her classmates. Gray had tried confessing to her but he chose a wrong time for it and he was crushed. Gray decided to put off his confession until later.

Not long after, _he_ appeared. The high and mighty genius transfer student, Jellal Fernandes had transferred to their school and to their class. That day, Gray was late for his class. That was when he first saw Erza in a never-seen-before expression. Erza was hot on heels for him. She fell in love at first sight. Gray found himself naked. _"Shit!" _

Gray was really jealous of Jellal. Being a genius, he excelled in everything and was always better than him. But because of that, he learnt a lot from Jellal. Both of them had studied magic together and Gray was able to become stronger than before. In addition, he was able to learn a few tricks of healing magic which was extremely hard to master.

Nevertheless, no matter how much he had improved himself, luck was never by his side, he was unable to pass the National S Class Examination despite trying for a few years. Even Tsuna who had joined Fairy Tail for only a year had cleared the exam in his first try as a private candidate.

* * *

This was a scene four years later.

_"Brother, I passed the exam! With this, Ciel will marry me!" Tsuna cried in happiness wiping off his tears when his name was announced as a mage recognised as an S Class level._

* * *

Erza was promoted to S Class while Jellal was being acknowledged as one of the Top Ten Wizards. They got married soon after and Gray had given them his blessing.

Jellal had been too proud and arrogant of himself. In order to make sure Erza was worthy of him, Erza was "forced" to act like a lady in order not to embarrass him in public as they often had to entertain high ranking officers.

All was changed when Natsu died. That was the greatest failure in Jellal's life. Jellal remembered his initial intention why he wanted to become a Wizard Saint, to uphold justice, creating safe and beautiful world of magic people can live freely and happily in. For this reason, Jellal had been working hard to destroy dark guild all over the world, thwarting all their plans. However, he seemed to be having problems dealing with Zero who was one of the most cunning evil mages existed.

That was why Jellal would do anything in order to get him. He was too overconfident of himself. Even though he managed to force him into a corner, he did not expect Zero to outwit him, making use of their hands to kill Natsu.

He did not believe what Brain had been telling him what he did to Natsu. Jellal felt that that was his way of buying time to escape. He would do it his way; To watch him as he was taken into custody. Brain was practically smirking when he handed the remnant of Natsu's magic power to Jellal when he was taken into the carriage. It was too late even if Jellal was able to reach Natsu as he had waited for too long.

Jellal's eyes widened when he watched Gray was trying his best to resuscitate Natsu whose heart had already stopped beating for a while with his pathetic healing magic and performing CPR on him. Gray would not give up on Natsu even though it was hopeless. Natsu could not simply just leave them just like this. Jellal rushed to his side to check on Natsu's pulse. Gray looked at Jellal in tears of regret when Jellal shook his head. Like it or not, they were still human, they had the right to cry.

If only he came to him earlier, he might be able to preserve Natsu's life with his magic power on hand. Jellal felt responsible for Natsu's death. He would assume all the responsibilities. Jellal took Tsuna in as his disciple, teaching him magic skills and using his authority to request Makarov to accept Tsuna to Fairy Tail. He would do anything to make up for his mistake. Gray was annoyed at his arrogance for making such a rash decision. Did Natsu even want that for his brother?

Gray always felt that this decision got to be a mistake until he heard about Tsuna's victory against Zero. Gray was relieved that both of them were alright. Jellal must be really anxious when he heard about Zero's escape. He really knew Tsuna well enough to know he would go after Zero and to help him on it. Gray looked at the worn out salmon haired boy who was staring into space resting from his previous battle with Zero.

Gray watched as Erza approached Jellal.

The road in front of them was still long. They were no longer kids. No matter what kind of decision she would make, he would support and watch over her.


	7. Chapter 7: The Ice Prince and the Miracu

**Very quickly, I come to the end of the part on Gray. Lucy is coming up next. Lucy's part was the most important part of S1 to read As it is linked the what is going to happen in S2.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Ice Prince and the Miraculous Boy**

Gray and Erza were relieved to see Tsuna and Jellal safe and sound.

Watching the younger twin brother of Natsu staring into space taking his rest, Gray stood beside him and praised him for a job well done. Jellal really had a great foresight, this boy really had the potential to become one of the greatest mage existed in future.

"Don't disturb me when I'm taking a nap!" Tsuna sounded annoyed. He was always rude to Gray and everyone else. Gray did not have a good impression on Tsuna because of that, he always wondered if Natsu ever disciplined him on good manners.

Gray remembered how he made him ride on the roof of his four-wheelers and not listening to what he had to say the first time they met. He swore under his breath that he would make sure he repented on his attitude on his knees the next time they meet.

Never in his dream that it had to happen in that way; the next time they met was on the day when Natsu was taken away from them. When he saw Tsuna, he was another person totally unlike himself in the four-wheeler. He seemed rather timid. Gray was really shocked to see him. He came to look for Lucy's sister, Ciel. It was as though Natsu was standing right in front of him, well and alive. The incident with Kingdom Empire did not happen. The two brothers really looked alike as expected from identical twins.

_Unseen to Gray, was that Tsuna really kneeled right at the side of his dead twin crying in despair. _

Gray had tried to resuscitate Natsu who already went into shock due to the damage received from Organic Link Magic after losing his magic power. He had learnt a trick or two in areas healing magic and even tried to transfuse his magic power to him, all for the sake of preserving his life until help came along when he could be given medical attention.

_"Natsu, wake up! You can't sleep here, not now. Wake up, flame brain!" _

Unfortunately, their element were polar opposite (ice and fire), his magic power was rejected from Natsu's body. It felt like his magic power was flowing out like no tomorrow no matter how much was pumped into him. Gray always wondered if Jellal who was much more powerful than he was could save him if he was able to reach them earlier.

Gray cried for his inability to protect his friends. If only he was stronger. He could not imagine a Fairy tail without Natsu around. He did not know how he managed to carry his cold and lifeless body back to their meeting place.

Makarov was already waiting for them in a room looking out from the window when Gray was in charge of reporting the circumstances to him. He could still remember his deadly expression when he demanded him for his explanation. Gray was scared stiff. This was the first time he seen Master that angry. _"How did this happen, Gray?" _

Everybody of Fairy Tail was children of Makarov. It pained him to see any of his children hurt, not to even talk about find one of his children dead from a mission he was not supposed to be involved. Natsu was only 18 when he lost his life. It was really a pity as there was a bright future waiting for him to explore at his young age. To think Kingdom Empire was so cruel to deprive a young man from his bright future. The children who participated in the mission were to be counseled as they were most affected from Natsu's death.

Makarov had come a long way. What kind of experience had he not endured throughout his life? _"It is always sad to part with those whom you love but your companions will help you bear that sadness." _That was why they were in a guild. Life had to go on; they would walk together in order to live a strong life.

Nobody dared to approach Tsuna on that fateful day he came to the meeting point to look for Ciel, who would? Gray did not dare to look at him into his eyes. He was afraid to face the fact that he was not the Natsu he knew. He did not know what to do or how he should talk to him or even break the news of what happened to his twin brother. It was then he saw Jellal walked up to him. Gray did not get to see the first-hand on his reaction towards the news of the death of his twin brother.

After that, he saw Tsuna on the day of his brother's funeral. He dressed up like his brother stomping into the graveyard going on a rampage. Gray needed to stop him. He could not allow him to create havoc on his brother's funeral, even though he was his younger brother.

Tsuna had joined Fairy Tail for nearly a year. During that time, Makarov was hesitating whether he should accept him into the guild considering that his mind was full of hatred towards the dark guilds. He would be making a huge mistake if he allowed Tsuna to join for reason like revenge. With Jellal's assurance, he finally agreed to his request. He ordered Gray and Erza to follow Tsuna around for all his missions to be on a safe side as all the missions Tsuna had taken were related to fighting against the dark guilds. How could he not be worried?

Jellal took Tsuna in as his disciple and of course he would be the one training him on the use of magic during battles. Gray often went to their training grounds to watch them. Jellal was really harsh and strict on him on the training. He had wanted to interrupt their training sometimes when Jellal went overboard. It was like he wanted to kill Tsuna anytime pushing him to his limit.

_"You understand that you don't have the luxury of time to hesitate during battle, you can get killed before you know it. Do you still want to continue with the training?" Jellal yelled at Tsuna who was kneeling on one knee panting. _

_"I will not give up! I need to get stronger. Come on!" Tsuna punched the ground to show his undying determination._

Tsuna was really talented. Very soon, he was strong enough to start taking on mission. Tsuna would not accept any mission other than fighting against dark guilds. Very often, he was seen fighting monsters or the leaders of the guild scaring the hell out of him and Erza. He would not want to go on missions with him if it was not by the order of Makarov.

Once he was ordered by Makarov to trap him in another dimension forcing him to reflect on his action as he went over his limit of tolerance. Tsuna seemed to have repented but who knows what he was thinking.

Gray and Erza really thought it was all over when they realised he ran off to face Zero alone. To their surprise he actually defeated Zero. Tsuna was most affected by Natsu's death after all, it was not surprising if he wanted to get himself killed for that reason but they would not allow him to do that. How would they be able to face his brother in afterlife if he succeeded?

In any case, they were proud of him for his victory over Zero. Tsuna would continue to grow. Gray believed that Natsu would be watching over him from wherever he was.


	8. Chapter 8: Lucy's Love Story

**This is a summary of Lucy and a little bit of her history and the event with Natsu in S1. The highlight of this special would be the next 2 chapters where Lucy look forward to her future. These chapters are the links to S2, stay tune to it. **

**Reviews are appreciated.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Lucy's love story**

The story began before Lucy joined Fairy Tail.

She had just broken up with her boyfriend Hibiki Lates as he was caught two-timing her. She stomped out from his apartment.

Lucy was getting angrier as she thought about it. She could not believe it. He commented to the other girl that she was not sexy as compared to her. Is she not sexy at all? How could she lose to her? She was younger than that woman after all!

_"There is no good man in this world. They are extinct. Speaking of good man, Leo is one of them but he is already taken, isn't it? " _

The annual dance party was coming soon. How was she going to find a suitable dance partner in such a short notice. Lucy stomped down the street when she heard something which caught her attention.

Somebody who was carrying a huge harvest sack was acting suspiciously. Lucy walked closer to see what was he doing.

"Happy? Are you in there?" The boy called out.

She crept in closer. He turned his head all the sudden startling her.

"Happy!" The boy cried out as he almost knocked into Lucy. Lucy managed to retain her composure. She could not let him know what she was actually doing and embarrass herself; to see what mischief he was up to. It looked like she was wrong.

"Hi~" Lucy waved to the boy. She noticed that his hair was salmon in colour which was rare.

That was how Lucy met Natsu.

Natsu and Lucy found Happy who was spying on a couple and they went for lunch together. They chatted for a while. Lucy mentioned that she was looking for jobs and Natsu suggested she joined their guild. There were many kinds of quests available; surely Lucy would find something suitable. Natsu just completed a mission and he was on his way back.

Lucy found Natsu to be cute when she watched Natsu stuffing his food down the throat and feeling really grateful for the food by rubbing his cheek in happiness.

_"Maybe I can ask him to be my dance partner?" She thought to herself._

Lucy frowned when she recalled what happened with Hibiki. There was no good man around. He must have some motive since he was too nice to her. Lucy still popped the question anyway since she needed help. Natsu accepted without a second thought. He never attended a ball before in his life and he was very excited. He agreed to help her simply because he found her to be a nice girl for treating him to lunch.

Natsu brought Lucy to Fairy Tail. Thanks to her looks, she was quickly crowned as the Princess of Fairy Tail to pair with their Ice Prince, Gray Fullbuster.

In order not to lose out to Hibiki and that woman, Lucy prepared a matching outfit for her and Natsu. Natsu was really overjoyed. At that point of time, he was already in love with Lucy. He did not understand the feeling initially. He was really excited to be watching fireworks with her. He had wanted to hold her hand and to confess his feeling to her but all was ruined thanks to Gajeel's cousin, Gajeel. Natsu was really pissed off and he ran off to find Gajeel to settle this.

The next time Lucy saw him, he was in a bad shape. Natsu and Gajeel were "mummified" after their brawling session and Natsu would not be able to move for a while, need not to say he would not be able to become her dance partner. Lucy was really pissed off. Good thing that she met her old friend Leo who took over his role as her dance partner.

She gave Natsu a tight slap when they met again. Perhaps, because of her slap, Natsu stopped all his childish acts. She felt he had changed into another person when they went fishing together.

Lucy was surprised when Leo confessed to her but glad that it was some misunderstanding. Leo had observed that Natsu had feelings for her. He was really a kind and innocent boy. He believed Natsu was sincere and true to her. He even thought that they were an item even though he was acting as her boyfriend.

Soon, she heard from Gray that Natsu had left Magnolia. Gray was her rival. Even though He seemed cold and unfeeling on the surface, he was actually concerned about Natsu's well-being. Natsu's carefree and innocent personality brought warmth to the guild. Everyone in the guild cared for him like they would do for a cute younger brother. Lucy and Gray had a pact that she would be honest on her feeling towards Natsu and would talk to him about it.

A Dark Guild, Kingdom Empire was plotting to turn the people of Edolas into lacrima which normal human could use as a source of magic. Gray, Happy and Gajeel together with Lucy represented Fairy Tail to participate in the mission to eradicate Kingdom Empire. They were to work with the hateful Hibiki from Blue Pegasus who was the Commander of the mission.

Gray and Lucy were in charge of locating the key to the Dragon Chain Cannon while Gajeel and Happy were in charge of reverting the lacrima which was created from human lives back to how it was and they headed to their respective mission. Little did they expect that Hughes from Kingdom Empire took Natsu whom they mistakened as Tsuna they met recently who drove them to the city as hostage to challenge them.

Lucy and Gray took Hughes and Sugar Boy on respectively. Lucy who was not well-adapt when comes to battle, was quickly overwhelmed by Hughes. She was almost finished off when Natsu came to her rescue in the nick of time, breaking free from his bondage. Natsu was forced to watch their battle after his previous attempt to escape failed. Lucy was relieved to see Natsu. She had decided to talk to him after they accomplished their mission.

At Natsu's request, she met up with Gray who was done with his own battle against Sugar Boy. Both of them returned to witness Natsu's victory against Hughes. With that, they would leave the rest to the Wizard Saint Jellal and they would have completed their mission. But they did not expect Natsu to collapse all the sudden.

Gray finished Sugar Boy who came after him in anger when he heard what they did to Natsu. Lucy was never so afraid before. She was afraid she would lose Natsu. She did not know what to do as she watched Natsu in coughing fit. He seemed to be in a lot of pain. What can she do to relieve his pain?

_"It's okay Natsu, you will be fine. We will find a way to save you." _Lucy cradled him on her lap. He was gradually losing his consciousness and he was no longer in pain. His body was beginning to lose its functions.

_"Lucy… you know what… Knowing you was the happiest moment in my life… although we are not meant to be… I don't regret falling in love in you…"_ Natsu smiled at Lucy while he confessed as he began to close his eyes slowly.

_"Thank you, Lucy... I really like you a lot…" _Natsu murmured in his barely audible voice. _"I'm feeling really sleepy, I will like to take a rest now… "_ And then it happened. Lucy watched in shock as his hand which was holding on to hers fell limp onto the ground at his side. The boy in her arm had passed away peacefully breathing his last. Lucy felt really empty as she shook him hoping that Natsu would wake up to tell her it was just a joke.

"Don't sleep, Natsu. I have not given you my reply. Natsu wake up!" Tears were streaming down her face on to his face. The boy had passed away with a contented expression. He could no longer hear Lucy.

* * *

Lucy had been travelling around this past year going on missions after missions.

One day, she visited her sister, Ciel in Edolas and she bumped into Leo who just returned from his honeymoon. It seems that he was interrogating her. She did not know how she should react watching her sister bickering with Leo. The sisters had known Leo since young but it appeared that Leo was more concerned about her as compared to her sister.

Leo was interrogating her because he saw something he did not like. He saw "Natsu" proposing to Ciel. He did not expect them to be so close, to think he actually spoke up for him to Lucy.

***Flashback***

_"Ciel, please marry me!" Tsuna was kneeling on one knee in front of Ciel asking for her hand in marriage._

_"No way! You did not even prepare a ring. What kind of marriage proposal is this?" Obviously, Ciel chose to play hard to get. _

_Tsuna thought fast as he replied, "I asked for your hand since we are mutually in love, is that really important to have a ring to propose for marriage. So what do you want me to do before you agree to my proposal?" _

_"I will consider if you become a S class mage." Ciel set him a challenge. Tsuna had made his decision as he declared. "Fine, I will not come back here until I passed the S Class exam, just wait for me." He would become the fastest man who will pass his S class exam as Fireball, Tsuna._

_"It's fine if you never come back." Ciel regretted immediately when she blurted out these words. She waited so long for him to come back to her, why did she have to chase him away? Ciel cried in regret when she saw him leaving in a huff._

***End Flashback***

Leo watched Tsuna leaving before approaching Ciel to check with her. He could not allow them to hurt Lucy.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Leo pushed his spectacle up when he asked that. "Is he proposing to you for your hand in marriage?"

"Yes, he is my boyfriend and he is asking for my hand. It's nothing got to do with you right?" Ciel retorted. Leo was shocked to hear that. How dare Natsu betray Lucy?

Lucy happened to be around to see the whole scene. "Oh well… As expected from Sister. " Lucy sighed. She explained everything to Leo. Leo was sad to hear what had happened to Natsu.

_"Natsu had confessed to me before he passed on. I had heard his feelings." _Lucy was on the verge in tears when she talked about Natsu.

Lucy was confident that Tsuna would pass his S Class exam and very soon he would be able to win over her sister, which was why she called him her brother-in-law since then. That was also the reason why Tsuna was crying in happiness when he passed the exam.

Lucy came to Natsu's grave not long after updating him on the latest happenings in the guild.

"It had been a year since Natsu had left us." Lucy realized how fast time had passed.

Lucy did not know since when she had fell in love with Natsu. Perhaps since their first meeting. Even though she felt that most men could not be trusted, Natsu was considered to be sincere and innocent in her eyes. This kind of boy is such a rare find. Lucy admitted to herself that she was willing to go out with Natsu. Deep down she knew that Natsu would be happy and excited if he could hear her.

* * *

Perhaps, they would meet again if fate permits…


	9. Chapter 9: The Cat Princess

**Something interesting to note. Previously, when this chapter was originally released, many readers had given me feedback that they had missed it. They all read the next chapter before this one. Even I'm quite surprised as none of them actually reviewed and reviewed the next one before coming back to this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: The Cat Princess & the Rainbow Sakura **

That day was Hanami when everybody from Fairy Tail would gather to under the Sakura trees to have fun and enjoy the beauty of the flowers which bloom once a year. However, Lucy was sick.

"Ah Choo!" Lucy sneezed. "As you see I'm sick, down with fever so I can't join you guys."

"Huh? To think I, your brother-in-law came here specially to fetch you and you tell me you are sick?" Tsuna folded his arms. "What had you been doing to get so sick?"

"Like I said, you are the Princess of Fairy Tail. I'm pretty sure you have many suitors. Can't you find one suitable candidates out of so many of them? Let them take care of you so as to save my time for coming here to visit you. On top of that, I'm not interested to be part of the scandal related to you. Like what this cat did to others."

"Tsuna, that was in the past." Happy protested. "How can you say that about me?"

Tsuna ignored Happy and continued. That was not the point. "As long as you are not interested in the guy who rides on the roof of the four-wheeler, I'm fine with it. I can't believe that was someone who preferred to ride on the roof to getting on to the seat of the four-wheeler. " Tsuna did not realize that he was the one who sped off before Gray could hop on. "I was telling Ciel the other day that you need to find a boyfriend but she gets fed up about it. I don't see any problem with it. What kind of guys do you like, let me help you find one?"

"I'm sorry. Can you help me inform Gray and the others that I can't make it." Lucy could not bother to listen, walking wobbly back to her bed.

Tsuna sighed. "Alright then, I will be going. Have a good rest. I don't want to get killed by Ciel if anything happened to you." Tsuna shut the door with a thud with Happy following behind.

Lucy lay on her bed thinking of her last mission which caused her sickness. She really looked forward to Hanami that day but thanks to the old lady, she was unable to attend.

"My dearest wish huh?"

* * *

***Flashback***

_Lucy was back to the guild the day before Hanami. Watching the notices on the request board, she poked her nose on to one which seemed awfully suspicious to her._

_"Help wanted. Your dearest wish (including those which are impossible to be granted) will be granted once mission is accomplished!" Lucy read it aloud. "This is ridiculous. How can a wish impossible to be granted be granted?"_

_"Lucy, this request isn't in our record. Are you free to help me check out this request, please? Master is not around so I can't leave at the moment. " Apparently, Mirajane had noticed this request and she was flipping through her file looking for the source of requestor._

_That was how Lucy met the weird old lady in the designed location, Fairy Hill where most of the girls of Fairy Tail were staying stated in the request._

_"Are you the one who sent out this request?" Lucy asked looking down at a mysterious short old lady in pink who had her white hair tied in a bun politely._

_"Wear this and help me." She ignored Lucy question and went straight to the point._

_"Huh?" Lucy glared at her obviously rejecting her request but she was being forced down and made to wear a black, sexy, revealing costume of a cat. Lucy found the costumer super embarrassing, totally ruining her character as the Princess of Fairy Tail. She covered her chest in embarrassment when she realized the old lady was watching her. _

_ "Help me find the treasure box I prepared for my granddaughter and your dearest wish will be granted."_

_"I did not agree to your request, bあaa-chan." Lucy complained. She is not listening to her and teasing her of being unfilial of being so insensitive to a poor old lady. "What? You called yourself poor old lady?" Lucy sounded annoyed._

_"Forget it, I will help you for free." It could not be helped._

_Lucy was pissed off being followed around by the old lady who must be pissing her off on purpose with all the insults and teasing her of being useless, unable to find things that was lost. Climbing through the tunnel, digging holes, she was unable to locate the treasures. As she was hunting for them, Lucy found herself unable to give up. She was going to find it and accomplish her mission. She had completed all the missions successfully so far so she was not going to fail this time round. If not Gray and Tsuna would be looking down on her. She would not give them a reason to do that. She was the Princess of Fairy Tail, not just for decoration. She could do something._

_Her hard work was finally paid off, when she found something sparkling in a hole on top of a tree._

_"I found it, ba-chan!" Lucy lifted up the box in the air as she exclaimed but the nagging old lady who had been following her was nowhere to be found. Lucy frowned in disappointment when she got off the tree._

_It was then Erza who had been staying in Fairy Hill since her divorce with Jellal passed by and saw her. _

_"Isn't it Lucy? Long time no see. What makes you come here today? You are not a tenant here, isn't it? Erza inquired. She blushed when she saw Lucy in the costume this revealing._

_"Should I have worn that last time, what will Jellal think?" She shook her head. That was in the past. They had a divorce; she should not be thinking how she should please Jellal. "Jellal did not seem like a guy who would be interested in girls wearing this kind of costume right? " Lucy interrupted her thought._

_"Have you seen a short old lady in pink?"_

_"Old lady?" Erza sounded puzzled. Lucy told her everything about her meeting with the old lady, her action etc. She found her really weird. She was around nagging at her all these time but now she was gone._

_Erza was enlightened when Lucy shown her the box of treasure belonging to the old lady. "I knew it. That isn't a human. That is a ghost, Lucy. She had been around all these while. She was my grandmother." Erza covered her mouth. Lucy glared at her in shock. Erza explained that her grandmother had passed away many years ago due to an accident._

_"She didn't forget her promise to me: to give me a box of treasure as a gift for my marriage. " Erza continued feeling touched. "I could feel her presence but she just will not show up no matter how I call out to her. " Erza recalled her time with her grandmother. She missed her so much. Suddenly Erza remembered something._

_"She said a Cat Princess will send this to me. So that is you, Lucy!" Lucy was surprised. That was the reason why she was made to wear the embarrassing costume._

_Mission accomplished. Lucy saw the request disappearing to the air. Erza watched in awe as the cat costume, Lucy was wearing disappearing into the thin air like the request did. She was fully exposed._

_ "There goes my image as the Princess of Fairy Tail." Lucy cried covering herself in embarrassment._

***End Flashback***

That was how she caught a cold. With that the old lady would be able to rest in peace. Lucy thought. All was worth it. She smiled contentedly and she fell asleep. She dreamt of the old lady and her words.

_"Your dearest wish will be granted once you complete my request." The old lady reminded her._

_"Tsk, if you can grant people's wish this easily, why don't you grant your own wish to find that treasure on your own?" Lucy pouted in response. _

Lucy thought she saw rainbow Sakura petals falling and she woke up. Her fever was gone. Lucy got up and she thought she heard some commotion. Lucy opened her window and her eyes widened in surprise.

It was a Rainbow Sakura Tree. It seemed that someone had dug it up and placed it on the boat. It passed by the river across where she was staying. Lucy heard that the petals of the Sakura Tree in Magnolia would turn rainbow in colour at night and Lucy had always wanted to see it.

"It must be the work by ba-chan. She must have known that she wanted to see the Sakura so badly so she sent her one." Lucy smiled feeling grateful to her.

_"Thank you, baa-chan."_

* * *

Lucy returned to the guild the next day feeling well and energetic. She had recovered from her cold. The guild was as noisy as usual. She saw Gray and Gajeel and overheard their conversation. She felt that their conversation sounded very weird. What kind of mission were they currently working on?

"Tsuna did not turn up as scheduled again. To think he is so serious in thrashing the dark guild but he is being too lenient on this mission. " Gray remarked folded his arms.

"Why didn't you remind him?" Gajeel sat with his legs crossed looking at Tsuna's direction.

"We should have known him better. He is just as arrogant as the teacher of his. I think I will take over his shift instead before Master and Erza finds out." Gray decided. Juvia was standing by his side. She noticed that he was topless again and she reminded him, "Your clothes."

"Opps!" Gray exclaimed.

Lucy looked at Tsuna. He seemed rather bored and annoyed. He was lying with his head on the table sipping on his drink while staring at her. Lucy felt a little uneasy but she could not argue against her brother-in-law.

_"Might as well greet him since they were at it."_ Lucy walked to Tsuna's table.

Tsuna started to munch on his bread. He almost choked on it when Lucy greeted him. His face was as red as a tomato. Lucy stared at him in response.

_"Did he not inform the rest about my reason of absence to be acting as though he is guilty?" _Lucy was feeling irritated at his reaction.

"That isn't right." Lucy watched the salmon haired boy more closely. Something was very wrong but she could not point out what was wrong.

"What's wrong?" The boy asked her timidly. Even Tsuna would be scared stiff at Lucy who was gawking at him so intensely.

That was when Lucy realized something. Tears flowed down her cheek as she covered her mouth in astonishment.

_"That must be what baa-chan meant by granting my dearest wish."_


	10. Chapter 10: Variation of Destiny

**I'm coming to the end of the Special chapter of S1. My writing is not that fantastic to keep your interest on which makes me wondered how I did that in the original version (likely due to the gif images). If it wasn't for the readers' who reviewed, giving me advice and inspiration, I wouldn't be able to complete the whole of 5 seasons. It is a challenge to reuse the scenes from the anime and to write a new story with it. I'm really grateful.**

**I'm not really motivated to keep writing here. After this, I won't be updating that frequently considering the lack of response ^^ (=_= the hit rate here is 35 times lesser than what I had in the original version (on average 7000 VS 200), I will be lying if I said I'm not disappointed), most importantly I'm busy with my work and studies.**

**Reviews are appreciated (Is that still important? =_=). Oh well… In fact I thought I will at least get a single review in the previous chapter which I put a lot of effort in, but nope.**

**Did I catch anyone in surprise? I did in the original version. Some feedback they were 50% spot on. They guessed it, but not exactly. The title of the work was only named by the time this chapter was up to actually give them enough clues to guess what is going to happen. I'm aiming to get the last secret chapter up tomorrow but no promise. Who have guessed it is about Natsu?**

**Thanks for reading.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Variation of Destiny**

_"Life is like a song of variations, constantly repeating, constantly changing, all for the sake to the pursuit of a perfect melody."_

A boy was looking over the lake in deep thought. He did not expect himself to survive the ordeal. Life was making a fool of him.

***Flashback***

_One year ago, he was lying on the arms of the girl he had always liked. He knew he was dying and he didn't intend to fight it neither he would be able to. He was gradually losing his consciousness when he confessed his feeling to her. He could sense that she was crying, but he was unable to stop her tears. Darkness crept over him when Lucy was trying to say something to him. He could no longer hear her._

_The boy had always felt that he was unneeded in others' eyes. He was just a burden to them. He was really relieved that Tsuna, Lucy and Gray were safe from harm and he would be able to leave peacefully. He had no regret._

_The boy felt his body as light as a feather. He was floating somewhere for he wondered how long. "Is this where they called afterlife? " He could barely manage to open one of his eyes to see where he was._

_Looking down, he saw his friends from Fairy Tail gathering in a place known as Kardia Cathedral. "Why was everybody in tears? Hey, isn't that my funeral?"_

_"Someone was coming. Isn't that Tsuna?" The boy saw his young brother storming in. He was unable to accept that his older twin had left them._

_"I thought you guys promised to complete the mission to save everybody. What happened? All of you are liars. My brother can't have died." Tsuna had lost his composure as he kicked the bouquet of roses which was placed in front of his grave. Gray and the rest of the guys ran over to stop him from rampaging._

_"Let me go! You lied to me!" Tsuna struggled to get free. "I'm going to wake my brother up! He is just sleeping in there."_

_"That's enough! Face the reality, Tsuna!" Lucy broke down and cried._

_"No, no! Dad and Mum were gone and now even you had left me all alone in this world. Don't you think you are selfish?" Tsuna cried in frustration._

_The boy watched in horror. He did not expect everybody to be feeling so miserable over his death. He wanted to console them but he was unable to._

_He looked around him. Suddenly, he saw somebody's hand coming from the light, reaching for him._

***End Flashback***

The boy had finally woken up from his coma a year after the incident. He was currently recuperating in Magnolia Hospital. He had been unable to get over his ordeal since he woke up being plagued by all the nightmares on what he had gone through in Kingdom Empire headquarter. He was being made in a guinea pig, to experiment on the result from the magic of the lacrima, excruciating pain of having his magic power being taken from him and the effect from Organic Link Magic.

He ran out from his hospital room after a nightmare and went somewhere where nobody was around to cry. He was crying for his weakness. Little did he expect that Erza had saw him as she was there training on her magic. Erza allowed the boy to cry and helped to calm him down. He fell limp to her arms when he had finished as his body had not recovered. That was so embarrassing.

***Flashback***

_"You are safe now. I'm here now so nobody can hurt you." Erza hugged the unconscious boy whispering to his ears reassuring him._

***End Flashback***

During his stay in the hospital, Wizard Saint, Jellal had brought him to stand trial in Era against the members of Kingdom Empire who had imprisoned and hurt him. There was fear lingering in his heart. They had almost killed him anyway. He disguised as Erza so that the members from Kingdom Empire would not recognize him. He was creating havoc, spitting fire all over to cover up his fear. Jellal and the rest of the council members were watching his "performance" in interest.

***Flashback***

_"Is that your ex-wife?" One of the council asked Jellal while watching._

_"No way! I don't know "her". Don't insult my beautiful ex-wife." Jellal laughed off as a reply._

***End Flashback***

He had realized that he was unable to use his magic freely as compared to before. The magic he could use was basic such as spitting fire. Other than that, he was no different from normal people. On top of that Jellal who was known as his teacher, had transferred his magic power to his younger twin. Both of them had seen his "secret".

He had agreed to Jellal's offer to work in the Magic Council without much thought. He did not want to be a burden to his younger brother. He could not have him to support him financially while supporting his wife at the same time. It seemed that their roles had switched. It was him who was supporting his younger brother previously.

"Oh yeah, I'm leaving Fairy Tail soon." The boy realized. There was something he needed to do. He could not let himself be found by Tsuna and his team. He needed to speak to her making clear to her on something since he had confessed his feeling.

* * *

In the guild, Lucy had realized something when she saw him. Tears flowed down her cheek as she covered her mouth in astonishment.

_"No way!" _She covered her mouth in tears. The boy who was right in front of her was not her brother-in-law, Tsuna, but Natsu, the boy who had passed away a year ago.

The boy tried to console her in panic. "Why are you crying, Lucy? Ok, I admit I'm not your brother-in-law. Please don't give me away. Tsuna went on a mission and I don't want the others to realize I'm here."

Lucy recalled her tampered memory.

***Flashback***

_On that fateful day, Natsu was dying on her arms. He was gradually losing his consciousness and he was no longer in pain. His body was beginning to lose its functions. He wished that he would be able to attend the annual Hanami and watch the fireworks with her the next time he woke up._

_"Lucy… you know what… Knowing you was the happiest moment in my life… although we are not meant to be… I don't regret falling in love in you…" Natsu smiled at Lucy while he confessed as he began to close his eyes slowly._

_"Thank you, Lucy... I really like you a lot…" Natsu murmured in his barely audible voice. "I'm feeling really sleepy, I will like to take a rest now… " Natsu was contented having confessed to the girl he liked. He had no regret. Lucy watched in shock as his hand which was holding on to hers fell limp onto the ground at his side._

_At the moment, Wizard Saint Jellal had just defeated the Puppet Master, Brain and he could sense that something was not right. He went to Lucy's side without delay and managed to perform emergency treatment to preserve Natsu's life. He had also sent his lieutenant, a huge black cat known as Pantherlily, to stop Gajeel and Happy from destroying the last lacrima which was linked to Natsu's life._

_Happy was scared stiff when he learnt about it. He almost killed Natsu without knowing._

_Natsu fell into coma after the incident. He went into shock after he lost his consciousness on Lucy's arms. His brain was deprived of oxygen because of that and the healers had informed them that he might not be able to wake up for the rest of his life. Nevertheless, everybody believed in Natsu. If he could live on after the ordeal, surely he would wake up one day._

_Lucy would visit Natsu in the hospital whenever she returned from her mission. Talking to him as much as she could, hopefully he could hear her and wake up._

_"Natsu, you have to wake up soon. We have a lot to do when you recover. Remember, we are going to attend Hanami and watch the fireworks together. " Natsu was not responding to her. She brushed through his hair and touched his face. Lucy found herself in tears seeing Natsu unmoving, sleeping in a peaceful expression._

***End Flashback***

As for Tsuna, ever since Natsu fell into comatose state, he had changed into another person. He bore hatred against the dark guilds for landing his lively older twin in his current half-dead state. He was taken in by Jellal as his disciple and that was where he was trained in his magic. Since then he had been fighting and destroying dark guilds and had even defeated Zero, the general of the Kingdom Empire who had landed his brother on his comatose state, seeking justice on his behalf.

Tsuna was promoted as an S class mage soon after and he got married with Ciel. Hopefully, his brother would be proud of him when he woke up from his deep slumber.

Jellal who had taken in Tsuna as his disciple, proposed to Makarov that he would take Natsu as his disciple, to have Natsu re-master his magic so history would not repeat itself. He would take him to the Magic Council as an apprentice. Tsuna had objected violently that this would mean that his brother would be excommunicated from Fairy Tail.

Ever since Natsu was drained of his magic power, his magic had been leaking non-stop from his body like a tap which could not be switched off. No matter how much magic power Jellal and the others had tried to transfer to him, his body would reject them. Natsu was already out of danger; hence losing his magic power was no longer life-threatening to him. Besides, in the Magic Council, there was a Sky Sorceress, an S class mage who was also an adept healer who could counsel Natsu and help him in his recovery. Once his body had recovered fully, he would be able master magic once again.

As Jellal had told Tsuna before, "As long as your heart desires for it, and you are not afraid to believe, magic will naturally respond to your thoughts." Even if Natsu had friends by his side supporting him, he would still have to come out of his fear on his own in order to reach the peak of the magic. Natsu would gradually lose all his remaining magic power and become a normal human. Maybe it was okay for Tsuna who was very protective of his twin but would Natsu wanted that for him? Would Natsu want to become his burden?

***Flashback***

_"But…?" Tsuna was trying to come up with an excuse to argue against his teacher._

***End Flashback***

Tsuna had always wanted to protect his brother who was barely able to fight for his life and lived on. He did not want to see him hurt again. He had discussed with Erza and Gray about it. Since he was an S class mage he was able to enter the Magic Council freely. He would bring Natsu home if he could not get used to the life there.

They were more worried about another issue. Jellal was a well-known demonic teacher, who knew what he had planned for Natsu and his training.

Lucy was depressed learning about Tsuna's decision. That just meant that Natsu would be leaving soon once he woke up and discharged from the hospital. She did not have the right to comment against the decision, did she?

* * *

"I'll tell you a secret. I had switched with Tsuna. I tied him up in my hospital bed and sneaked out of the hospital. " Natsu whispered mischievously to Lucy. Everybody had been watching over him since he had regained his consciousness. He was being watched all the time and unable to do what he wanted so he needed to sneak out of the hospital. Especially, the day before was the day of Hanami. He needed to fulfill a promise.

***Flashback***

_"We had watched fireworks before. Sakura would be a problem." Natsu thought to himself as he walked down the street. Natsu felt free to be able to come out, "So this is freedom." He chuckled to himself._

***End Flashback***

Natsu wanted to stay in the guild as much as he could for now. He did not expect to be excommunicated from the guild just because he left home. Once he left Fairy Tail for the Magic Council, he won't be able to stay in the guild and see Lucy as much as he could. At most once a year since they were relatives (Lucy's sister was the wife of his younger brother).

He sneaked out to spell everything clear to Lucy. He decided that he was not compatible for Lucy after all. Lucy could address him as her elder brother if she liked to. Natsu gave his blessing to Lucy to find her own happiness. Natsu walked away quickly as soon as he finished. He did not expect saying all these to her was a whole lot easier than confessing his feeling to her.

He was stopped in surprised when Makarov showed up and the entrance making a din all the sudden. "Who dug up the Sakura tree out there? The mayor was hopping mad about it. And Tsuna, why are you here? Natsu had escaped from the hospital again. Hurry up and look for him. Your teacher is here to visit him and he was quite angry to find him missing." Erza was nodding her head in silence at the back.

"Need not to say, it had to be him who dug out the tree." Gray folded his arms commenting about it.

"I agree with you. It is hard to babysit him. Tsuna must have a lot of problem and I want nothing to do with him. And why are you back?" Gajeel realized that Gray had returned.

"Gray, your clothes." Juvia reminded him once again.

"Opps!" Gray exclaimed.

Natsu's expression had changed. Lucy understood the whole situation and she smiled covering her mouth with her left hand. She caught up to Natsu and had her arms over his shoulder. Natsu was feeling very uneasy. Natsu wanted to run away before this got out of hand as he did not know how to react in this situation.

"Thank you Natsu. Let's go and see the fireworks before you leave for the Magic Council. You had left abruptly the other day. We will see the Sakura next year. It's not counted this year, ok? I'm not calling you my elder brother as this time I will not let go of you." Lucy had finally spoken her mind.

Life was a long, long journey. Lucy believed she would be able to grasp her happiness from now on. This time round, they would be happy.

_"Thank you, baa-chan. Thanks for giving me this chance. I will not disappoint you. I will treasure what I have now."_


	11. Chapter 11: A gift from heaven

**I wonder how did I come up with the last part at the end :P? That would only be answered in later seasons. I'm not sure when I will post the first chapter of S2. New semester starts tomorrow and I will not have time to write. **

**Meanwhile, thanks for reading.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: A gift from heaven**

Natsu was discharged from the hospital. He was enjoying the sense of freedom when he was finally released from the imprisonment by Kingdom Empire and the hospital. He was beaming from ear to ear as he walked in front of the group.

Gray, Lucy and Happy came to pick him up. Tsuna was unable to come as he was completing a request by his teacher, Jellal.

***Flashback***

_"You did that on purpose, didn't you, demonic teacher? Tsuna barked when he was given the order by Jellal._

_"Does it really matter? You will still come here very often uninvited. I know you too well." Jellal made fun of him._

***End Flashback***

Gray was glad to see Natsu recovering well but Happy interrupted his thought flying by his side. It seemed that gossipmonger, Happy was back in business, "Have you decided who you prefer? Erza or Lucy?"

"Believe me, I will seal your mouth with ice." Gray responded in a sarcastic tone.

Happy had no choice but to turn to Lucy, "What about you? How do you feel towards Gray?"

"Why this all the sudden? You must be kidding me. " Lucy was caught in surprise. She smiled and continued, "Today is a happy day, stop playing, you two." She turned her head towards Natsu who turned to her direction.

"What are you guys talking about?" He asked all the sudden startling Lucy. "Nothing!" She cried out immediately.

"When are you going out with the dense idiot?" Gray butted in.

"Hey! Not even you!" Lucy wanted to cry out loud. Apparently, Natsu was too dense to hear their conversation. He was smiling in his own world.

Natsu and company returned to the guild which was pitch-black. A spotlight was switched on. Natsu blocked his eyes from the sudden brightness in the dark.

"This song is meant for Natsu who finally returned home safely." Mira announced and she started playing on her guitar. The group was greeted by Mirajane's concert. She had prepared the concert specially to welcome Natsu.

Everybody was listening to Mira attentively, enjoying the song she sung with her beautiful voice. Natsu was bewildered that the they had actually prepared these programmes specially for him. He was in denial as he thought he was causing everybody problem. He did not deserve their kindness. That was why he will be excommunicated from the guild very soon.

Obviously, someone got to appear when comes to concert. Gajeel appeared in his usual white suit on stage with his beloved guitar and the mike after Mira had finished. The audiences were turned into stone.

"How can I not participate when it comes to concert. Let me have the honour to welcome Natsu back with my song as well." Gajeel declared.

Gray and Natsu who had not heard his song was really stunned. Natsu thrashed Gajeel's concert before and Gray was often out on mission when Gajeel held his concert. They really broke down when Gajeel started to sing.

"I had never heard a song any worse than this!" Natsu commented covering his ears and he got a guitar thrown right on his face.

"What did you say? I'm singing specially for you. You won't even get any chance to hear my singing usually."

"How dare you sing in such a horrible voice to a patient like me? Aren't you not worried that I will faint after listening?"

And the fights started again.

Fairy Tail resumed to the usual business with Natsu back and Natsu had a really enjoyable night.

* * *

Lucy took Natsu out the next few days for sightseeing. Natsu had not been able to have much fun for a very long time and both finally got to watch fireworks together without interruption. Natsu of course was really excited. He was finally able to go out with a girl of his dream.

Afterward, it was the last day before Natsu left for the Magic Council. Erza organized a farewell ceremony for Natsu together with Lucy, Gray and Tsuna who was all beaten up. Tsuna had been challenging Jellal for the past few days. They had a secret pact that if Tsuna won a single battle against him, Natsu would be able to stay on. He had lost completely. As expected from a Wizard Saint. Tsuna stood no chance against him especially he was the person who taught him how to fight with magic.

Erza hosted the ceremony for Natsu in her farewell ceremony armour, she recited the three rules Natsu is expected to follow for leaving Fairy Tail.

_"You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live._

_You must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain._

_Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, you must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends for as long as you live."_

"Let's start the party!" Erza shouted raising her flag of Fairy Tail to the air.

"Ok!" Tsuna, Gray and Lucy started firing fireworks when Erza finished. They did not realized that Natsu had sneaked away on his own. He was afraid that he would cry at the sight. _"The time has come, isn't it?"_

Happy followed Natsu as he was worried for his best friend. He saw Natsu busy eating his favourite fire. _"Is that what people referred as "overeating"?_ The blue cat commented to himself.

* * *

Lucy followed Natsu to the train station the next day when Natsu is leaving for Era despite Natsu's protest.

"Actually you need not see me off, I can head to the train station on my own."

"Does it really matter? Besides, I managed to buy a new book on the way." Lucy replied with a smile. That was not the real reason. The truth is, _"We will not be meeting frequently after today. I must treasure the remaining time we have together." _

On the way to the station, Lucy did not know what to say to Natsu. They were in silence. After this, they would only meet once a year on the New Year. Lucy was aware that Natsu had not fully recovered since he woke up from his coma. Re-mastering magic with his current condition would be harder than when he first learnt it and he might not be able to recover his magic power either. Nevertheless, she would cheer him on, encourage him, and give him all the support he needed.

"Natsu, you must work hard while you are there. If Tsuna can master his magic quickly, so can you. This is not your first time mastering your magic. You can do it!"

"That's of course, we are twins after all. Whatever he can do, I can too. I will nurse my body back to health and re-master my magic. I want to take the S class promotion examination which Gray can't pass after several attempts. To think he attended the School of Magic to prepare for it. I will to pass before he does." Natsu hesitated in answering her, he was not sure. They finally stop somewhere near the station where they bid their farewells.

"You can send me off here. Take care Lucy!" Natsu waved at her.

Lucy watched Natsu walking away from her. After going through separation between life and death, Lucy could not bear to let him leave. She took the initiative and hugged him from behind.

"Natsu, I will wait for you no matter how long you will take so just please don't give up."

Tears welled up Natsu's eyes. He could not afford to let her see his tears. "I will… I will return very soon after recovering my magic. Let's part here now. I'm afraid that if we don't part now, I will be even more reluctant to leave. " Natsu broke free from Lucy's hug and walked away.

"Take care, Lucy!" With that Natsu ran off very quickly into the station.

_"Life is like a song of variations, constantly repeating, constantly changing, all for the sake to the pursuit of a perfect melody. Natsu do you know, you are a gift sent to me from heaven. I will fight and treasure our happiness. No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you. There is always hope as long as we are alive. I have no need for changes as my happiness is right in front of me." _

That was what Lucy believed…

* * *

_Lucy wondered if she was dreaming._

_She dreamt of two boys were facing off one another. One of them had spiky salmon coloured hair and the other seemed to be about the same age as him with black hair that sticks upwards at the top with dark eyes. The boy in black was wearing robes with gold trimmings and an open collar, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his main body and across his chest. Lucy recognised the salmon haired boy as her brother-in-law Tsuna as she could already differentiate between the twins. _

_The other boy gazed at him in tears. Tsuna bared his fang preparing to take him on in battle as the red Fairy Tail emblem on arms glared a bright red transforming into an emblem of another design Lucy found very familiar. "Isn't that an emblem from eradicated famous Dragneel clan?" She could see that Tsuna was really burning in anger. She could not make out their conversation. None of them had noticed her presence either. That was when she noticed that the boy in black, cowering in fear was going to release some deadly attack._

_Lucy tried to warn Tsuna b__ut it was too late. Lucy tried to reach Tsuna when the boy in black released a wave of darkness devouring both of them…_

_"NO!"_


End file.
